Civilian toll rises as drone and missile strikes intensify across Russia and Ukraine

At least 19 people were killed on Sunday in a series of drone and missile strikes across Russia and Ukraine, marking a significant escalation in long-range attacks as fighting at the front lines remains largely static. The coordinated assaults targeted civilian infrastructure and industrial sites in multiple regions, resulting in the highest weekly civilian death tolls reported by both sides since mid-2022.

In Russia, Ukrainian forces executed one of their largest aerial campaigns to date, launching approximately 600 drones against the Moscow region and surrounding areas. Moscow’s regional governor, Andrey Vorobyov, described the assault as one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory. Russian authorities reported intercepting 822 drones overnight across the country. The strikes resulted in five deaths in the Rostov region and three further fatalities in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Moscow regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukrainian cities were subjected to intense bombardment over the past week, including more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs, and 62 missiles. In response, Russian strikes killed two people and wounded 14 at ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s hometown. The plant, a major producer of steel, partially halted operations after core production facilities were damaged. Additional strikes killed one person in Kryvyi Rih, two in Zaporizhzhia, one in Sumy, and one in Donetsk.

In Kyiv, a strike destroyed the popular outdoor book market at Pochaina, a long-standing hub for rare and antiquarian volumes. Bookseller Dmytro Semenukha reported that all four of his stalls were burned to the ground. Zelensky renewed his appeal to international allies for enhanced air defence systems, stating that European interceptors could not remain in storage while North Korean ballistic missiles targeted European infrastructure.

The conflict’s spillover has extended beyond the immediate combat zone, with NATO members reporting drone incursions into their airspace. Romania’s defence ministry confirmed that a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that breached its airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova. Similarly, NATO stated that its fighter jets intercepted a drone in Latvian airspace, marking the second such incident in a week. Meanwhile, Ukraine has continued to target warehouses belonging to the online retailer Wildberries, claiming the company supplies components for Russian drones, with around 20 such facilities struck since mid-July.